Jairam Ramesh attacks ECI’s clarification on internal differences, voter enrolment and ECINET, alleging serious concerns over the electoral-roll revision exerc…

Jairam Ramesh attacks ECI’s clarification on internal differences, voter enrolment and ECINET, alleging serious concerns over the electoral-roll revision exercise

New Delhi, Sept 2026 : The Congress on Saturday renewed its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for an immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, following the Election Commission of India’s clarification on reports of differences within the poll panel

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh criticised the ECI’s statement issued after a full Commission meeting earlier in the day, arguing that it did not adequately address concerns raised in recent media reports about the functioning of the three-member poll panel

The controversy follows a The Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and directions concerning voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, Form 6 and access to electoral-roll databases

The ECI, however, said on Saturday that major decisions relating to the SIR had been taken collectively and unanimously. It maintained that the June 24, 2025 order launching the revision exercise had received the approval of all three commissioners and that subsequent schedules were also approved unanimously

Ramesh said the Commission’s latest statement did not directly deny the reported disagreements and described its response as an attempt to downplay the concerns raised in the media

He also questioned the ECI’s explanation regarding 97 voters in Goa who had initially been left out of the electoral rolls. The Commission said 81 of the 97 voters had already submitted Form 6 for inclusion after Booth Level Officers were directed to conduct house-to-house visits

Ramesh argued that the development raised questions about the process through which voters had initially been excluded and demanded accountability for those affected

The Congress leader also criticised the ECI’s reliance on a Supreme Court order while explaining aspects of the SIR process. He argued that the judicial order could not, in his view, resolve questions concerning alleged voter deletions, administrative confusion or the implementation of the revision exercise